Member Avatar for BibleGeek

I recently bought a new Netgear N150 DSL Modem/Router. I connected and set it up with my laptop (HP DV9715 w/Vista Home Premium SP2 AMD Turion 64x2 TL-60 2GB Ram NVIDIA Gforce 7150/nforce 630m). I have a direct-connected PC that gets on the internet. We also have two remote PCs that connect and a Windows 7 laptop that connects. The only problem is that my Vista laptop will not recognize the router by wifi. I called Netgear support and was told that it was a problem with Vista. Is it? If so, is there a solution?

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A focused troubleshooting note for 's thread that builds on suggestions from , and while avoiding an immediate OS upgrade. Because the laptop gets internet over Ethernet and other machines (including a Win7 laptop) work with the Netgear N150, the problem is very likely a wireless/adapter or router-configuration mismatch rather than “Vista” as a blanket cause. ’s SSID-broadcast tip is a good quick test; the items below narrow the likely culprits and give concrete actions.

  • Confirm the wireless adapter is set to obtain IP/DNS automatically (no static IP left over). A stale static address will produce “limited”/“unidentified” symptoms.
  • Delete (forget) the saved ShorttFamily profile and recreate it; saved profiles can carry old security settings.
  • Update the laptop’s Wi‑Fi driver from the laptop vendor (HP) or the chipset vendor (Broadcom/Atheros/Intel). If a new driver was installed recently, try rolling back.
  • Ensure the Windows WLAN AutoConfig (wlansvc) service is running and set to Automatic.
  • Disable adapter power-saving (Device Manager -> adapter -> Power Management -> uncheck “allow computer to turn off this device”).
  • Temporarily disable firewall/anti-virus to rule out filtering, then re-enable after testing.

Run these Windows network reset commands from an elevated prompt to clear any corrupt state:

ipconfig /release
ipconfig /flushdns
ipconfig /renew
netsh winsock reset
netsh int ip reset

On the router: set wireless mode to mixed b/g/n (or g-only for testing), use WPA2‑PSK (AES) rather than TKIP, temporarily enable SSID broadcast, and check that MAC filtering, guest/AP isolation, or a separate “guest” SSID are not blocking the laptop. Update the Netgear firmware and, as a final quick test, try a simple open SSID or a USB Wi‑Fi dongle — if the laptop joins those, the issue is security/driver compatibility rather than Vista itself. Upgrading the OS is a last-resort after these targeted checks.

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Member Avatar for jingda

Vista has many problems. You might want to upgrade your OS and use a newer version like windows 7. I will offer you some solutions.

1) make sure your firewall is turn off.
2) Reset your router and try to see if your windows laptop can connect to the laptop
3) make sure you wifi card is installed properly, if not re install your wi fi card again. Update all drivers.
4) make sure your wi fi is turn off. At the side of th laptop there should have a switch to turn off and on the wi fi.
5) try connecting to your router again but this time use an ethernet cable.
6) check your network settings.

One last time can you access the internet. Does your wi fi shows connected but cannot access internet or your wifi shows not connected to thr network.

Member Avatar for BibleGeek

Thank you for answering so quickly.
1) I have not turned off firewall yet. I will try that
2) I have reset the router and it did not help
3) My Wifi card is built into the laptop and it works well on every other wireless router
4) Wifi switch is on
5) Can connect with ethernet cable; just not wifi
6) Have checked and re-entered network settings at least 20-30 times
7) The message that it gives is 'Limited or no connectivity' and 'Cannot identify router'. When I connect with ethernet it connects using 'Network 11'. My router's name is "ShorttFamily"
I appreciate your time and interest. Thank-you.

Member Avatar for jingda

Try upgrading your OS, Vista has many problem try using Windows XP and see whether the problem persists.

Member Avatar for IkramMirza

I recently bought a new Netgear N150 DSL Modem/Router. I connected and set it up with my laptop (HP DV9715 w/Vista Home Premium SP2 AMD Turion 64x2 TL-60 2GB Ram NVIDIA Gforce 7150/nforce 630m). I have a direct-connected PC that gets on the internet. We also have two remote PCs that connect and a Windows 7 laptop that connects. The only problem is that my Vista laptop will not recognize the router by wifi. I called Netgear support and was told that it was a problem with Vista. Is it? If so, is there a solution?

It is problem with Vista. It is my personally observation.

commented: Crap answer -2
Member Avatar for cypher1

Hi

Broadcast your WiFi connection SSID , this can be changed in your router setup,this solved a similar problem for me

Member Avatar for jingda

It really depends. Changing your network name does not really helps all the time.

Member Avatar for cypher1

Hi did you try it?it is not changing the network name it is broadcasting it rather than keeping it hidden,which is strictly speaking more secure.

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